I've been playing Project CARS 3 for a while now, and I feel like I've only scratched the surface of the game. In this check-in, I'm going to explore what the game has to offer early on, from the moment you start the game to the point where you feel like you're beginning to grasp what's under the hood.

From the moment you stand at the starting line, "Project CARS 3" wastes no time in getting you behind the wheel. Right from the start of the game, you'll be driving a powered-up sports car for your first time trial. You will immediately notice how the track is enhanced with different traction levels, RPM spikes at the top of hills, and deceleration if you miss a gear shift.

Such an introduction is part of the "first time user experience" that guides you through an important aspect of the race. Old pros who have no hesitation in taking corners at 90 mph in the rain can skip this and get to the heart of the game.

Once in the game, you have several options. If you know exactly the track you want to drive, the weather, and the car you want to test, you can jump right into the custom event mode. Online multiplayer is also available with quick play, scheduled events, and custom lobbies. A competitive rivalry mode is also available. However, we will not discuss these online modes yet.

For those who want to familiarize themselves with all that "Project CARS 3" has to offer, including raceways, cars, style customization, mechanical upgrades, and race types, the campaign mode offers a taste of it all.

While it may be a bit of a shock to suddenly switch from your first race in a powered sports car to a low-level Class E road car, the humble starting point will help you get used to all the basics. There are a variety of game modes available, including Hot Lap, where you need to set the fastest time possible, and Pacesetter, where you need to complete three perfect laps quickly. There are also a variety of goals to achieve during the race. Instead of always focusing on winning, some events force you to practice perfecting corners or overtaking opponents cleanly.

As the race progresses, you earn credits that you can spend on new cars or upgrade existing ones. We started in Class E with a 1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI T.M.E. and kept upgrading it to improve our times on the track.

Some races require a specific car. One race might require a particular model, another might require a car from a particular country. As you play through the campaign, you will have this experience and you will quickly learn how each car behaves differently. After bombing my first race in an all-wheel drive Lancer, I was completely thrown when I drove my first race in a rear-wheel drive muscle car. Each car needs to learn that, just as each circuit does. [In particular, a track that you thought you had mastered in dry conditions can suddenly turn into something else when it gets muddy in the rain. But a certain familiarity can last forever, and the reason we've been able to keep the Lancer running in so many races, from the E-Class to the Hypercar Class, is because of the many performance upgrades that are available. Once we upgraded everything under the hood, the Lancer went from a dull cornering king to a power station of acceleration.

We picked up a few others, either to meet specific race requirements or because they were on sale; you can race one car a lot, but it's a thrill to see how different two cars can feel on the same track! Maybe.

While the early stages of the game may seem overwhelming with so much to experience, "Project CARS 3" offers a variety of ways to experience the game. A variety of assists are available, including steering, braking, traction control, automatic transmission, and track guidance. You can jump in with all the assists turned on with the controller, or you can use the racing wheel in full manual mode. If need be, the entire game is playable in VR, so you can lose yourself in virtual reality.

We are already racing in the hypercar class, but there is much more to explore. Stay tuned for more updates as we further explore the campaign and online modes and test out the steering wheel in a number of incredible mechanical marvels that we have yet to try.